God Has a Wonderful Plan For Your Body - "Evangelicals desperately need, then, an ordered account of how Scripture informs our understanding of the human body and its uses. But with few exceptions—like James K. A. Smith and Amos Yong—evangelical theology is still playing catch-up. As Westmont College theologian Telford Work recently pointed out in these pages, the theology of the body is one of evangelicalism's least developed doctrines."
A Friendly Critique of Liberal Christianity - "The world looks on with a crooked smile as the liberals acclaim their entire concurrence with all the values of the left-wing intelligentsia. The intelligentsia embarrassingly acknowledge their concord with the theological left, they thanks the theological liberals for affirming all of their values, but bid them adieu as they do not need any religious tokens at this time. Tragically theological liberalism claims to offer patronage to a group of intellectual who no longer want it."
Can An Individual Interpret Scripture? - "2 Pet 1:20-21 are important verses for our doctrine of Scripture, and so it should come as no surprise that there are some differences of opinion on the meaning of the passage... As is so often in Greek, the original language gives us the range of interpretive options, but usually it is context that makes the final decision. Greek is not a magic key that reveals the one and only possible interpretation; otherwise we wouldn’t have endless supplies of Greek commentaries."
'My Purpose Here Is Not To Convert You' - "The gospel is for everyone. It is a radically inclusive message. Though the world balks at the exclusive claims of Christ, we rush forward with the inclusive news that He is Savior of all the world. If I fail to proclaim this message, I am not really following Jesus. Instead, I’m just cloaking 21st century ideas in traditional Christian garb. What would have been the better way for this pastor to handle his conversation with the imam? It would have been better to say something like this..."
Resources For the Muslim-Christian Dialogue - "Anyabwile himself is a former Muslim, which gives him a unique perspective on the specific challenges that so often hinder Muslims from understanding and believing the gospel. This helps Anyabwile to present the gospel in a manner which is most clear and winsome to Muslims. In fact, many Muslims have commented that the Muslim-Christian Dialogue contains the most clear, thorough explanation of Chrisitanity they have ever heard. We gladly commend the Muslim-Christian Dialogue as a useful resource for engaging Muslims with the good news of Jesus Christ. For information on how to purchase and use these resources, check out their website at www.MuslimChristianDialogue.org."
Hey Sean, I just read the post on "My purpose is not to Convert you" And I like what one commentor said in response/agreement "When I engage in interfaith dialogue, I say, 'I am not going to try to convert you. I believe that is the work of the Holy Spirit. Instead, I believe I have a responsibility to witness to my beliefs and to witness to my Lord. If you feel any pressure to change, it won’t be from me, but from God’s Spirit.'" What do you think?
ReplyDeleteI think it's sound as far as theology goes, but it doesn't make the Gospel look very good. When he communicates that sharing the Gospel is a mere responsibility ('I believe I have a responsibility...') that doesn't exactly make the good news of Jesus look great. Also, if he feels the need to say 'if you feel any pressure to change, it won't be from me...' it makes it look like he doesn't care one way or another whether that person comes to faith. When I wasn't a Christian, I know I wouldn't have been impressed with that kind of presentation. That kind of presentation doesn't make me feel like the guy has any strong conviction, doesn't make the Gospel look impressive, and makes the guy look like he has fear of man issues, not the courage that you'd think would come with knowing you have an important message from God to share with others. That's not to totally wipe the floor with this guy. I've said something similar. And like I said, it's theologically correct. But I'm not sure this really helps people see the Gospel for what it is. See where I'm coming from?
ReplyDeleteHmm... that's why you're my husband, so wise and insightful :)
ReplyDeleteAlthough, now that I give it some deeper thought, though I see your point of view and got some good thoughts out of it, I do still hold some reserves, as it could depend on the context. If explaining the gospel to someone who is genuinely seeking and asking questions, I'd definitely take to heart what you're saying here. If explaining the gospel to someone who probably doesn't want anything to do with it, or someone I don't have a well-developed relationship with, I'd be more careful with the person and take something like the approach of Dave (The person I quoted). It's not necessarily my responsibility to make the gospel look appealing (again, Holy Spirit's job), just to speak the truth. And If I'm honest with the person, saying something like, "I'm not here to convert you" (and be honest about me trusting in God to do that,), it's less threatening to the person and might help to bring their guard down so they'd at least give me the time of day to speak the gospel in the fullness of truth. Does that make sense? What do you think?
ReplyDelete